Four held after man shot dead at pub’s pool table

The victim, named by police as 23-year-old Mark Short, was shot in front of family and friends by a lone gunman.

Three other men were also injured when a masked man opened fire on a group of people standing around a pool table in the Cotton Tree pub in Market Street, Droylsden, Greater Manchester.

The shooting happened shortly before 11.50pm on Friday.

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said a 34-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder.

A 52-year-old woman has been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit murder and possessing class A drugs and two other men, aged 21 and 18, have been arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender.

Detective Chief Inspector Denise Worth, of GMP’s Major Incident Team, said: “We remain in the very early stages of our investigation and I continue to appeal to anyone with information about the gunman, his accomplices or conspirators to contact us in absolute confidence.”

A Home Office post-mortem examination concluded Mr Short died from a gunshot wound to the neck.

Two men, aged 25 and 26, were shot in the leg and a 29-year-old man was shot in the lower back. The men are being treated in hospital. Their injuries are not thought to be life-threatening.

Speaking from the scene, Chief Superintendent Nick Adderley said a man burst into the private party and opened fire.

“We don’t believe this to be a random attack, although we are not clear about who the intended victim was,” he said.

About 20 people, aged 18 to 65, were said to be in the pub at the time.

Mr Adderley said officers were keeping an open mind about the motive but said all the victims were known to the police.

The gunman was wearing a balaclava and escaped in a Ford Focus which was found abandoned and alight in Ellison Close, Hattersley, a short time later.

Police believe the gunman used a revolver and that four shots were fired in the pub.